A handbook on the medical school admissions process is presented, offering a first hand account of what works. Six chapters discuss the following topics and subtopics: (1) premedical preparation (planning undergraduate study and picking the right college); (2) power techniques for higher grades (techniques for grade point success, improving grades a little bit more, and pass/fail grades); (3) the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT sections, scoring the MCAT, preparing for the MCAT, professional MCAT prep courses, examination tips, the new revised MCAT, and suggested reading); (4) the application process (American Medical College Application Service--AMCAS, and the application, extracurricular activities, recommendations, filling out the application, how many schools to apply to, deciding which schools to apply to, financial aid for medical school, final review of the application, after applying, getting admitted, special programs, timetable of important dates, and breakdown of U.S. medical schools); (5) the interview (the interview process, final preparation before the interview, and sample interview questions); and (6) the essay authorship, proofing and style, conservative and safe, creative vs. weird, apologetic, egotistical, doubtful, or boring, why a physician? translating research into clinical practice, meeting the physician shortage, stamina, the M.D. family, name-dropping, a word of warning, and about the essays). A selection of 50 successful AMCAS essays concludes the book. (SM)